Rat's Tale
by Carodacat
Summary: This story follows Rattmann as he travels through Portal 2, watching over Chell and deals with his wounds and Schitzophrenia. He has to choose who is more important- himself, his companion cube... or Chell?
1. Chapter 1: Out of Stasis

Rat's Tale

Chapter One: Out of Stasis

Doug could feel pain. He wasn't sure of anything, not even his existence, but he was aware of pain.

He realised if he could feel pain, he must have a leg, for that was where the turret had shot him. He tried to move it. It was definitely a leg. He discovered that he had eyes, for he could open them and see around.

He was still lying in the Relaxation Vault; plants were sneaking their way through the glass. He was still on his back, lying in the stasis bed Chell had slept on countless years ago. For a brief moment, he had time to wonder why he was awake, before a steady hum interrupted his thoughts.

"Please prepare for Emergency Movement Protocol #16," drawled a cold metal voice. The stasis bed began to vibrate. Doug sat up rubbing his head. He was startled he could actually get out of the bed. Wasn't there supposed to be glass covering him? He swung his legs out and stood up. His wound made him stumble, and he fell onto his faithful companion cube.

"You're awake," she remarked as he leaned gratefully on her.

"You're as observant as ever," he joked. She sighed. Doug reached out a hand and stroked her old metal casing. Papers were scattered all over the floor, the information faded to the faintest blur. Doug didn't bother to pick them up. It troubled him that all the machines were still online. Why was the stasis bed being moved? Protocol #16 was only supposed to be used when… when…

Doug hastily grabbed his companion cube and jumped into the stasis bed again. "She's awake!" he sang to himself, as a huge metal claw grasped the edges of the stasis bed, and lifted it into the air.

It took them down countless corridors, never slowing or stopping. They were moving above an abandoned test chamber when there was a sudden groan from the machinery. Doug looked up. The rail they were travelling on was old and rusted.

Without warning, the claw slipped; the bed and Doug tumbled down the floor. There was a Portal Gun on a pedestal, slowly rotating. Doug's hands reached out for it and found a grip. He hung on as the bed crashed through the floor and tumbled downwards. His cube was safely on his back, but his bag was lying on the floor about a foot away. He reached out a hand; his bony fingers gripped the leather as the portal gun became loose.

The claw snaked through the hole in the floor in search of the bed. The Portal Gun suddenly broke free of the pedestal, and fell along with Doug into the hole. Darkness pressed in on all sides, and then there was a sickening crunch. The already dark world went black.

Water. Doug was lying in shallow water. He painfully pushed himself up and brushed his hair out of his eyes. The ceiling only had a slight shaft of light seeping through, but Doug could tell any more weight and it would break fully. "What happened?" he asked his companion cube.

"You haven't used my name yet," she replied dryly. Doug paused. He knew her name. He had named her when they stuck in the panels behind Test Chamber 17. Yet he just couldn't remember what it was.

"You shouldn't have taken your medication, Ratt," she scolded him. He scowled. "Don't call me that." The cube just chuckled. "Well, Mr. Rattmann, until you remember my name you may call me Cube," she said in a superior way. Doug just stood up and limped over to a spot of light.

The Portal Gun had skidded to the foot of a set of stairs that lead nowhere. Plain white walls were scattered around. Perfect for painting.

Doug slowly drew out his stick of charcoal. His hands, normally so shaky and frail, took on a new kind of elegance as he slowly started drawing GLaDOS. He drew out the cake stencil he had found in one of Henry's drawers. His hands began to shake as he drew Chell, but he kept a smooth line on his drawing. He only stopped when he had to draw himself and the cube. Drawing Cube was easy enough, but he couldn't draw his face. What if Chell saw it and thought he was spying on her? He settled on a stickman with an orange face. It wasn't very artistic. But it would do.

After about three hours, he was done. He hoped Chell would like his drawings, or at least look at them. Cube was silent as he showed her his drawings, but she began to sing quietly as he set her on his back again. He very slowly placed the Portal Gun at the top of the stairs before making a run for it.


	2. Chapter 2: Love as a Construct

**-Thanks for all the faves and reviews, I'll try and get these up as quickly as I can.-**

Chapter Two: Love as a Construct

"There are some things I don't understand, Cube," Doug stated as they walked above a half finished test chamber. "What is it?" she asked. She had stopped singing once they were a distance away from the new murals.

"Well, you said that I had taken medication, when you know I have none left. Also, why did I wake up? Where did the glass over my stasis bed go? And why can I even walk on my leg?" Doug's lifted up his trouser leg to reveal the deep bullet wound. As the hours had passed, the pain had been fading.

Cube sighed, and began to explain. "A loose rock broke the glass. That was probably caused by Chell waking up though, because when you were knocked out after falling down that hole, there was a lot of rumbling and shaking. And your leg… well, _duh_! It's a stasis bed that heals you so you can test again! It's so advanced, it knew to give you Schizophrenic medication." Doug was overwhelmed by all this information. He thought he understood most of it, but there was one thing…

Something made Doug's thoughts vanish. A light had flickered on in the distance; a rusty claw sped off to the right. It could only mean one thing.

One single computer was still holding on to its power. Doug started hurriedly pressing keys, trying to bring up the cameras. It asked for his login. "I know this, I know this…" he said to himself as he typed it in

**Username: drattmann. Password: h0nee**

The old computer flickered on to the camera page. Doug quickly found the one that was monitoring GLaDOS' chamber. There she was! Chell was staring up at something. One of the Mark II personality constructs was with her. What was Chell staring at? Doug pressed a key, and his heart sank as the camera zoomed out.

GLaDOS was awake.

The claw Doug had seen earlier reached down and grabbed Chell by the back of her top; another snaked down and grabbed the construct. Both were lifted into the air. Doug didn't know what GLaDOS was saying, but she suddenly crushed the construct and flung it carelessly to the side. She dragged Chell over to the old incinerator, and dropped her down before she could protest.

Doug didn't know what he was doing; suddenly his feet were taking him toward her chamber. Cube was shrieking protests, but he ignored her. All too soon he was outside her door. Only then did he stop and think about what he was doing. He couldn't just storm in there, she'd kill him! But he had to do something.

A faint moan caught his attention. Lying next to the door was the personality construct, almost dead. Doug reached out and picked it up. Its mechanical eye opened; the blue iris shrank in size as it saw the human. Doug nearly dropped it when he realised who it was.

His mind cast back to when he was younger, still working at Aperture. He had been assigned to turn on the intelligence dampening construct which they wanted to test out. He had pressed the switch, and it had immediately started asking questions and saying stupid ideas. And now he was holding the same thing in his hands, its shell broken and its eye cracked.

He quietly took it to one of his smaller dens, located outside Test Chamber 04. It had a small desk with a computer, and a wall where he had drawn on after Chell began testing. The word unreason was written in bright orange letters. He knew straight away Chell had been there, for there were footprints.

Doug set the construct down on the table, and began to try and repair it. It was more difficult than he expected, but he carried on. He couldn't do anything about the dents, and its eye would have to stay cracked, for there weren't any replacement lenses. Every now and then small sparks would burst out of the side. As Doug put the last piece in place, the construct turned to look at him.

"Who are you?" it asked groggily. "I'm Doug Rattmann. I was the one that first activated you, remember?" Doug said. "Oh yes!" it said. "Hello Doug. I'm Wheatley." It said the name with such certainty; Doug didn't bother asking how it had thought of it.

He opened a can of beans and began eating them. He was starving. Wheatley watched him silently. "Why did she hurt me?" he finally asked. Doug looked up. "What exactly happened in there? And how did you get a test subject?" he said between mouthfuls. Wheatley shuddered, and began to tell him.

"I was going through test subjects and I knocked on her door, and we tried to escape. Silent, she was. I dunno why; she just never spoke to me. Probably brain damage. Anyway, she went through some test chambers, and then we got to the one where the Portal Gun was supposed to be. But it wasn't there. So she went over to look, and the whole bloody floor went!" Doug and Cube looked at each other.

"She found a Portal device, though I have no idea why it was there. But we carried on testing, got to a way out, I nearly died… then we had to go through _her_ chamber. She was off to start with. I went into the room and looked for a switch that said 'escape pod'. Couldn't find it. Then we started moving up, and er… well, let's just say big Ol' robot wasn't very happy with that. She started saying, "It's been a long time. How have you been? I've been really busy being dead" and that kind of stuff. Then it turns out this brain damaged person had killed her! Then she tried to bloody crush me! Unbelievable…" Wheatley trailed off.

Doug thought hard. There was a chance Chell was still alive, and she needed to get out. He turned to Wheatley. "I need you to help Chell escape," he told the construct. Wheatley stared at him. "But I –"

"No, this is important," Doug said over him. "Follow her until you can get her out. I'll put you back on your management rail, and then I'll watch her through my hideouts. They'll keep her informed about GLaDOS' real intentions. But she needs _you_, Wheatley." The blue eye shrunk in size. Doug could tell Wheatley was thinking about it.

"All right," Wheatley said. "I'll do it." Doug smiled and picked him up. He moved the desk, grabbed Cube and Wheatley, and lowered himself into the secret passage.

* * *

><p>"That worked then," Cube remarked as the two of them went to find the den in the new Test Chamber 06. Doug reached in his pocket and found the radio he had reprogrammed. When it reached his den, it would begin to make strange noises. They could be decoded, but Doug knew that Chell didn't have the equipment to do it. As he placed the radio in the tube that went to the test chamber, he just hoped she would know he was watching over her.<p>

As he opened a can of beans, Cube began to sing.


	3. Chapter 3: Smooth Jazz

Chapter 3: Smooth Jazz

Doug could feel pain returning in his leg as he walked toward Test Chamber 12. "Are you okay?" Cube asked. She stopped singing when a red stain appeared on his white trousers.

"You're bleeding!" she cried unnecessarily. He shrugged. "Well, it was only short term relaxation," he reasoned. "So I'm probably gonna get weaker and more insane the longer I walk around." He chuckled. "Not that it matters to you."

Cube paused for a moment. "Doug… do you ever…" she trailed off. "What?" Doug asked. Cube was silent for a moment. "Do you ever wish you had a real companion?" she burst out.

Doug smiled. He quickly ran back toward Test Chamber 06 and opened the door. He placed Cube on the table and hugged her. "You will always come first, my love," he whispered into her metaphorical ear. She seemed to find this a good answer, for as Doug sat down she began singing again.

The pain in his leg was increasing steadily. Doug ripped off a sleeve, poured a bottle of water over it, and wrapped it round the wound. His mind felt unhinged slightly, as if the medication was wearing off. Obviously short term relaxation was not the right thing to do.

"What is gonna happen to me, Cube?" he asked, reaching for a carton of milk. Cube started mumbling under her breath. Doug sighed. "No point keeping it from me," he reasoned. "You're in my head. I could stop you thinking."

Cube gasped. "All right, all right just don't do that!" The two of them stared at each other for a moment. "Ok," Cube began, "when you went in, you were only supposed to be in five, maybe ten years. But there was no wakeup date. So once it had treated your leg and given you the medication, it didn't know what to do. So you've been slowly getting worse over the years, but only now is it taking effect."

Doug paused. "Am I gonna die?" he said without thinking. Cube didn't reply; suddenly Doug wasn't sure if he wanted her to. He quickly drank the carton of milk, trying to ignore the pain in his leg.

He found himself muttering under his breath as he looked around. His Schizophrenia was obviously returning. He could hear faint music, probably coming from his head. It wasn't the best song, and it sounded sort of jazzy. Doug suddenly got up and walked over to his mural. He scrawled over the wall: **_Smooth Jazz Fails._**

GLaDOS' voice suddenly boomed through the speakers. "Let's see what the next test is. Oh, Advanced Aerial Faith Plates. Well, have fun soaring through the air without a care in the world. I have to go to the wing that was made entirely of glass and pick up 15 acres of broken glass. _By myself_."

Doug jumped up. "She's here!" he cried. He grabbed Cube and placed her on his back. "Come on," he muttered as he tried to open the door. It suddenly opened and Doug fell through it, banging his head on a pipe. He scrambled away and closed the door with a kick. Staggering to his feet, he ran to the next chamber.

He watched Chell throughout the next two tests, keeping out of sight. When he walked along a corridor that was above Test Chamber 09, he saw Wheatley peering in, as if waiting for something. Curious, Doug watched from around the corner.

Suddenly Chell appeared. The Aerial Faith Plate had sent her soaring upwards, and Wheatley started babbling frantically as he saw her.

"Hey! It's me, I'm okay!" he yelled as she began falling again. GLaDOS made a remark about the now broken faith plate, but Wheatley carried on speaking. "How are you? Are you okay? You're still jumping! Good for you mate." Chell suddenly flew up again. Wheatley carried on speaking. "Ok, what happened right, I was just lying there, you thought I was done for…" Chell fell down again. "…but this scientist came and fixed me. He was called Doug. Nice man, he was. Anyway, so I got back on my rail and then there was this huge shriek! I'd gone straight into a bird." Chell appeared again. "A bloody bird, right? I couldn't believe it either…" Chell was trying to say something, but Wheatley wasn't listening, and she fell down again, looking annoyed. "… so anyway, I came looking for you, you might have seen me, in a few test chambers, looking at you. I'm still trying to find a way out but…" Wheatley broke off as the ceiling began to lower. The blue core muttered in annoyance and sped off.

Doug hadn't moved since his name had been said. He just hoped Chell hadn't heard him being mentioned. He quickly checked that there was no other way to look in, before limping after Wheatley, wondering whether Chell knew that it wasn't just a personality construct that wanted to keep her safe.


	4. Chapter 4: Ramblings of a Madman

Chapter 4: Ramblings of a Madman

Rattmann was having an animated discussion with Cube as he walked toward Test Chamber 12. "It's a bridge made _entirely of light_!" he exclaimed. "It's amazing! Hard to make, but when you're finished it really pays off. I can't wait until GLaDOS uses the Excursion Funnels. Those are absolutely brilliant." He stopped when he realised Cube wasn't listening to him. "Thanks for taking such interest," he groaned sarcastically.

"DUCK!" Cube cried, and Doug crashed into the floor just as Wheatley soared over their heads. He had managed to balance some bird eggs on his handle, and as Doug watched he dropped them into a door mechanism.

Doug followed, curious. His den was just up ahead, so this was probably the door mechanism for Test Chamber 12. He could hear GLaDOS complaining about something. Wheatley was hiding behind a doorway, waiting. GLaDOS left, and Wheatley sped through the door. Doug crept closer, silently listening.

"Hey! Up here!" Wheatley said urgently. "I found some bird eggs lying around here; just dropped them into the door mechanism! Shut it right down I-" There was the sound of a bird cawing, and Doug guessed it had found the eggs and was seeking revenge. "AGH!" Wheatley yelled. "BIRD! BIRD! BIRD! BIRD!" He went through the door Doug was hiding behind. Doug made a lucky grab, and caught the bird by its tail. It shrieked wildly, but Doug held on. "Get back to Chell!" he mouthed at Wheatley. "Ok." The core nodded and went back in. Doug ran into the corridor, threw the bird off a ledge, and ran back to where Wheatley was. The bird flew back to him, but he managed to shut the door, before it could reach him. He heard a thud as it collided with the door and fell to the floor. He just hoped it wasn't dead.

Wheatley was panting as he saw Chell again. "That's probably the bird that laid the eggs, innit? Livid! Ok, the point is, we're gonna break out of here. Very soon, I promise, I promise. I just need to figure out how… to break us out of here." Wheatley suddenly started. "Here she comes! Keep test- just keep testing! Remember you never saw me, never saw me!" He sped off as GLaDOS returned.

Doug hurried out of earshot of GLaDOS and Chell, and then burst into laughter. Maybe it was the fact the bird was so angry; maybe it was because Wheatley could be so idiotic; maybe it was just his insane mind making him feel weird. Either way, he couldn't stop laughing as he climbed over a pipe and into his den.

His murals had survived over time, probably because the pipes kept it cool. Doug limped over to one side, but as he placed his foot down a panel came loose. He jumped back, swearing under his breath. He could see right into the test chamber. Chell was staring at the panel as it fell into the acidic goo below. Doug scrambled out of sight just as she looked up. Curious, she placed a Portal on the Hard Light Bridge, and another in the den. Doug had time to run back to his mural and hide behind a pipe, before she fell into his den.

He watched her walking curiously around, taking in every inch of the den. She stared at the mural, running her fingers over the painting as if she felt sorry for it. Or did she feel sorry… for him?

Doug breathed in. He had never seen Chell when she was awake. Her eyes studied everything with interest, and she walked with a sense of confidence. She crouched down to examine ever cup and can of beans. The way she held the Portal Gun showed she knew exactly how to use it.

She eventually jumped back into the Test Chamber. Doug breathed out. His mind felt even fuzzier, but he didn't mind as much. He slowly walked over to Test Chamber 16, where his next den was. He stopped when he realised what was in that chamber. Maybe it would be best just to wait in Test Chamber 17.

As he limped toward his next den, his mind started whirling. The old symptoms were coming back. He still knew where he was going, but everything else seemed to be in flux.

He walked past the lift of Test Chamber 13, and was shocked to see it was out of use. That meant…

Doug gasped. "She's going through one of my corridors!" he exclaimed. "…and?" Cube said, bored. Doug frowned. "How am I meant to get to Chamber 17 if she's walking through it?" he demanded. Cube sighed. "Scenic Route?" she suggested.

"But I can't remember the scenic route!" he snapped. Cube was silent. Underneath everything, Doug knew it was his illness making him angry. But he didn't want to admit it.

Cursing, he tried to find a way to Test Chamber 17. With every step he took, he could feel his mind growing more unstable.

Eventually he found it, but he was just outside the walls of his den. Annoyed, Doug sat down and leaned against them. He tried talking to Cube, but his words were sounding more and more distorted every time. Without really noticing, his attempts at conversation just turned into rambling. He sat there for at least an hour, just rambling nonsense words, not knowing that Chell was pressed up against the other side and could hear him.


	5. Chapter 5: Lost

**~Sorry this took so long to get up. I was almost done, then 4 dead birds got stuck up our chimney, and the whole living room was swarmed with flies, so I couldn't write on my laptop for a day and a half. So here is an extra long chapter to make up for it. ~**

Chapter 5: Lost

"Um, Doug? Mr. Rattmann?"

Doug looked up. Wheatley was hovering over him, looking worried. "You're awake! Great!" he said. Doug was confused. Had he fallen asleep? And why was Wheatley here?

Wheatley dropped something at Doug's feet. "I was reading your file, just because I thought you could help me, and I saw you had Schizophrenia. So I found these two pills! But that's it. So only take them when-" Wheatley broke off as Doug picked them up and swallowed them. The scientist stood up. "I take it you were planning to break Chell out now?" he said calmly. He could still just about speak, but he hoped the medicine would kick in soon, because English was becoming a challenge.

Wheatley nodded, sparks flying from his casing. "I need you to turn off the lights while I open a wall. Is that ok?" he asked. Doug nodded. "Great! Then follow me." Wheatley sped off to the right, Doug trying his best to keep up with him.

They reached a small control room outside Test Chamber 21. Doug quickly found the switch, and Wheatley went to get into position. There was a small window, and Doug could just about see Chell. She had just pressed a button, and a cube had fallen onto the hard light bridge. "When should I turn them off, Cube?" Doug asked. He was worried when he got no reply. "Cube?" he repeated. She gave a faint sigh. "You won't need me anymore…" she whispered. Doug remembered that the pills stopped her from talking. He suddenly wished he had never taken them. He couldn't bear to be without Cube, even for a second. He had lost all focus, and only when Cube faintly shouted, "Now, Doug!" that he was jolted back to what he was supposed to be doing.

Chell was walking along to a weighted cube. Doug pulled out a plug, and everything went dark. The weighted cube fell into the acid with a splash, and Chell hit the floor. Wheatley opened a panel, and Chell walked over to him. Doug heard Wheatley shout, "Come on! I'm turning on the lights!" He quickly put the plug back in, before running after the pair.

He was still quite a way behind, but he could still hear them. Suddenly GLaDOS spoke. "The irony is you were almost at the last test. Here. Why don't you just do it? Trust me; it's a better way out than whatever asinine plan your friend came up with."

As Chell stared at the last chamber, Doug had the opportunity to sneak behind some of the panel robots, and run along to the next path. The hard light bridge shone all the way to the next catwalk, and Doug ran along it. However, he was barely round the corner when it disappeared. Chell and Wheatley were going a different route! Doug started to run, but the pain in his leg was too great. He stumbled, and pushed himself up with the rail on the side. The bandage had come loose. He retied with a knot that felt like it was cutting off his circulation, and continued running.

He seemed to be ahead of Chell. He reached a tangle of paths, and stopped, thinking. Chell would need the lift. He ran left and found a set of stairs that looked like they would take him the right way. He ran up them two or three steps at a time, not looking back.

He was at the top when Wheatley came into view. There was a huge grinding sound as GLaDOS moved a test chamber in an attempt to crush Wheatley and Chell. Doug dived out of the way as it was dragged past him, crushing the stairs. He knew he should run, but he had to make sure Chell got out alive. She was running toward the lift, staring up at Wheatley. She barely missed a falling pillar as it destroyed the catwalk behind her. She jumped into the lift and Wheatley zoomed up to safety as the two test chambers collided. Only then did Doug run.

He wandered aimlessly around the facility, unsure of where he was. When the light's turned out, he had to wander around in darkness for five minutes until he found a torch on someone's desk. Occasionally he would hear Wheatley talking, but he never seemed close by.

Eventually Doug found himself at the turret redemption line. There was a familiar turret with a blinking light standing next to the redemption line. As he came closer, it said weakly, _"I'm different…"_

"Hello, Prometheus," Doug said, patting it. It looked at him. _"I know you,"_ it murmured. _"Nice man. Friendly man. Man with a box."_ Doug's eyes watered as the turret mentioned Cube. "So, how are you?" he asked the turret. It slowly said, _"She saved me."_ Doug paused. "Chell saved you?" he asked. The turret was silent. _"Help me…"_ it whispered. _"Please help me…"_ Doug picked up the poor turret. It looked so lonely, sitting by itself with its blinking red light. He couldn't let GLaDOS find it, but now she was back awake, there was nowhere for it to hide. Sighing, Doug went to put it back on the redemption line.

_"It isn't over,"_ the turret said, _"until the fat lady sings."_ Doug stared, confused. What was Prometheus talking about? The red beam suddenly pointed upward. _"Follow,"_ the turret said softly. Doug began to climb upward. It took him through countless corridors, with so many turns even Doug had no idea where he was. Eventually they reached a dark room. _"Here."_ The turret was shaking with excitement. Doug walked to where it was pointing, and set it down. A single beam of light shone on the old turret, and it turned its beam off as it powered down.

Doug backed out of the room. Why it wanted to stay there, he had no idea. Maybe he would find out one day.

There was a distant rumble. Doug could hear faint warning bells, and a pipe next to him suddenly collapsed on itself. He quickly read what was on the side. Neurotoxin. Curious, he followed the pipe, ignoring the pain in his leg. Nothing felt real anymore, so it wasn't hard to pretend he was imagining it. As he followed the pipe, he could hear turrets screaming. He wasn't sure what Chell and Wheatley were doing, but if they were making turrets scream in pain, it must be good.

The pipe led Doug back to the Neurotoxin Generator. He went to open the door, but something held him back. He peered through a small window. The generator… wasn't there. It was gone. Gone. Pasado.

Doug could see the observation room. The tube had broken, and it looked like everything had been sucked into it. _Does that include Chell?_ He wondered silently.

He was so busy thinking, he didn't notice the door begin to creak. It began to bend as the air pulled it in. Suddenly, it was ripped violently pulled off its hinges and it flew into the pipe, almost bent in half. Doug began to cough as the Neurotoxin seeped into his lungs. His head began to pound as he fought for breath. _Not again_, he thought desperately, **_not again!_**

Doug's vision blurred. He had to do something, and fast. He staggered toward the empty door frame, his wounded leg almost completely numb. He still ran, and with a running jump he flew into the pipe. As he was pulled into darkness, he closed his eyes and passed out.


	6. Chapter 6: All Good Things

**~ Sorry this took aes to get up. My muse seemed to die on me. I also had the urge draw tons of pictures, most of them of Doug. ****And this chapter doesn't feel as good, I don't know why. Still, I hope you enjoy. Thanks for all the favourites and reviews. ~**

Chapter 6: All Good Things come to an End

Doug groaned and sat up. The last thing he could remember was being sucked into the neurotoxin tube. He had landed on a catwalk that led to a set of stairs. Groaning, he sat up. His back felt lighter, as if something was missing. He gasped. Something _was_ missing.

His companion cube had gone.

Stunned, Doug sat completely still for a minute, trying to accept the fact it wasn't there. When he finally regained his speech, he began screaming profanities at the ceiling, shaking his fist to the bitter unfairness of fate. GLaDOS seemed determined to take away everything he had, form his freedom to his sanity and now his cube.

He paused for breath after five solid minutes of shouting. His eyes snapped open when another voice reached his ears. GLaDOS was saying something. Doug scrambled weakly up the stairs. They led to the corridor outside of the huge chamber the evil AI was kept in. The observation room had been ripped off, but the glass walkway was still standing, albeit covered in debris. Doug managed to shove his way through some of it, but he couldn't move a broken panel arm (he suspected it wasn't broken at all, just lying there to stop him).

As he gave up in disgust, he noticed something stuck under a pile of rubble. He tugged it out to discover it was a key card, bearing his name. Doug stared at it. He'd forgotten he had a key card. He wasn't even sure what it was for. Probably for opening doors. But that wasn't useful here.

Doug began rummaging through the rubble, looking for more things. He found a can of beans, a bird skeleton, a pair of broken glasses, and a piece of paper with a weird symbol drawn in orange. It looked a bit like the letter A, but it didn't have the middle line. A string of numbers was written underneath, along with the words _Trust Me. _Doug pocketed the paper. It felt important, but he wasn't sure why.

A yell made him jump. It had come from GLaDOS' chamber, but it sounded like Wheatley. Doug hoped the little core wasn't in trouble. GLaDOS suddenly started frantically protesting, before letting out a scream that made Doug's blood run cold.

He sat down next to the panel so here could hear the conversation better. Wheatley had given a cry of triumph, and seemed to be celebrating something. Doug could hear the creaking of a lift as it was summoned to the room. Wheatley was still gloating, and he began to laugh. The laugh seemed to get darker, and Doug froze as he heard the lift stop moving. He had to know what was going on.

He managed to crawl under the panel, before vaulting over a pile of rusty metal and swerving round a broken High Energy Pellet Launcher. His fingers reached for the door, but it was closed. He scrabbled in his pockets and drew out his key card. After clearing away cobwebs and dead flies, he managed to slot it into the door mechanism. With a protesting moan, the door slid open.

Doug stepped forward, only to be met by panels. GLaDOS obviously didn't want anything to get in. He could just about peer though into the room. Chell was in the lift, looking incredibly worried. Wheatley was… _no. He can't be_. Doug rubbed his eyes and looked again. Wheatley really was stuck to GLaDOS' body. He seemed annoyed, and suddenly moved his 'head' close to Chell. GLaDOS' head was nowhere to be seen. Doug wasn't sure if this was good or bad.

There was a sudden _ding! _and a robotic arm appeared out of the floor. It was holding what looked like a potato. Doug couldn't hear clearly what Wheatley was saying, but suddenly a light on the potato lit up, and GLaDOS' voice came drifting out of it.

_GLaDOS was a potato._

Doug watched, horrified, and Wheatley grew angry and slammed the Potato-GLaDOS into the lift. The once-friendly blue core was not shouting in rage, using the robotic arm to punch the lift into the hole. It suddenly gave way, and the lift, Potato-GLaDOS, and Chell, fell into blackness.

Doug left out a cry of shock. Chell was gone. Who knew if she would even survive? His gasp must have been loud, for Wheatley turned in his direction. "Who's there?" he called suspiciously. The panels obediently moved to reveal the crazy scientist. If Wheatley had a face, he would be grinning evilly.

The same claw that had caught Chell snaked down from the ceiling and grabbed the back of Doug's lab coat. The arm dragged him up to Wheatley's eye level. The blue core glared at him. "So," he began, "we were eavesdropping, were we?" Doug didn't bother to reply. Wheatley blinked then carried on.

"So here is the mad man with the box. You helped me, now I will help you." A lift appeared out of the floor. "You will be a good little lab rat, and solve tests for me. You're too much trouble to leave on your own." Doug glared at him. "How am I trouble? I'm a mad man with a box WITHOUT A BOX!" he yelled, struggling.

Wheatley chuckled. "Oh, don't struggle," he warned. Several panels opened up, and something tumbled into the room. Doug gasped. A heart was painted on the side. "Cube!" he yelled. Wheatley shook him to shut him up, before positioning a metal plate over the companion cube.

"Now, Ratt, are we going to co-operate?"


	7. Chapter 7: Seeing the Good

**~ It's finally up. HUZZAH. Sorry it took so long, I've been busy.. well, not really. But this was harder to write, because I had to make all of it up. And Wheatley is hard to write, going from evil to angry to sad and whatnot. If you are confused about the security footage but, you _could _read my prolouge to this! It's called the Humanity Core, but it is kinda morbid. Anyways, enjoy! ~**

* * *

><p>Chapter 7: Seeing the Good when it's all Going Bad<p>

Doug groaned and opened his eyes. The last thing he could remember was him agreeing to do the tests. Wheatley had tossed the companion cube to the floor, but before Doug could grab it, a panel had catapulted it into a tube. A lift had been called, and Doug had reluctantly stepped inside.

The ride had been short and painful, involving the lift slowing down then suddenly speeding up, crashing into things, and eventually breaking down before it reached the test chamber. Wheatley had to send a claw to shove it down.

Doug pushed himself up. He felt bruised and sick. The bumpy ride had caused his wound to reopen, and his trouser leg had a growing red stain. He slowly limped into what looked like a hotel room. Wheatley's voice suddenly boomed in the small room, causing Doug to jump and collapse on the bed.

"Hello! Sorry about the lift and all. Anyway, you need to be cleaned up before testing. You'll need it, trust me." Wheatley chuckled quietly.

Doug glared at the ceiling before looking around. An orange jumpsuit had been thrown on the bed, along with a pair of long fall boots. On the table Wheatley had placed what looked like a tube of cream. Doug cautiously picked it up. According to the instructions, he was supposed to cover his wounds with it. He squeezed it onto his bullet wound. For a second there was searing pain, but it quickly ebbed away. Standing up, Doug realized he could put weight on it.

He checked himself for other wounds. He found a cut of his hand, and his shoulder was bleeding. He quickly cleaned them up, wondering if he had any other wounds he couldn't see. A certain cube drifted into his mind. He very slowly squeezed out some cream and placed it over his heart.

Doug turned his attention to the jumpsuit. He wanted to stay in his own clothes, but he had to admit they were dirty and bloodstained. He reluctantly pulled then off and put on his jumpsuit. It fitted him almost perfectly, but he grabbed his lab coat and wore that over the top. He needed all the padding he could, and only his white coat was free from bloodstains.

The long fall boots were similar to the ones Chell had, but they were shorter in length, with a longer heel spring. He quickly put them on. They made his feet feel springy. Doug got up and walked to the door. The lift had gone.

"Oh, you're done! I thought that wound had killed you." Wheatley sighed in relief. "So, on with the tests!"

Doug looked around expectantly. No lift appeared. Just as he was about to ask what was going on, something hard hit the back of his head. His legs crumpled. Everything went black.

When his eyes slowly opened, he could see a plain white roof. He tried to sit up, but glass blocked the way.

"Hello!" Wheatley said cheerfully over the speakers. "And welcome to The Aperture- No, the _Wheatley _Laboratories Computer-Aided Enrichment Centre. I hope your brief detention in the relaxation vault has been a pleasant one; your specimen has been… oh God, this is a boring script, isn't it? I don't know why GLaDOS made this. Pointless! Sorry about knocking you out earlier. The lifts were broken, and I had to carry you with a claw. Nearly dropped you twice! Also, why do you have your old lab coat on? Anyway, just go test Doug, please. Right now, thanks. No, don't look at me like that. Get out of the bed. Get out, please."

Silence.

"**Doug, do I need to incinerate your cube?"**

Doug jumped out of the bed. As stubborn as he could be, he couldn't let Wheatley touch his precious cube. He reluctantly stepped through the portal out of the Relaxation Vault. Wheatley had actually managed to clean up the place pretty well; there was only one plant creeping through the ceiling.

Doug quickly made his way through the first few tests, completely ignoring Wheatley. Once he had the portal gun, he made sure to destroy every camera, ignoring Wheatley's protests. As he walked into Test Chamber 11, he promptly detached every single camera from the walls. After putting the Energy Ball into the receiver (Wheatley had brought them back and tried to 'improve' them, which meant they occasionally burst into flames), Doug stepped lightly onto the moving platform. As he picked up the orange portal device, not only did the button appear, but the panels in the wall split to reveal a monitor. To Doug's horror, Wheatley leered at him.

"Ha! Not to smart now, are we, little Rattmann?" Wheatley chuckled. Doug tried to ignore him, completing the test silently.

As he stepped out into Test Chamber 12, more panels moved and Wheatley appeared again. "You can't escape me, Doug. I'm watching you!" he sneered. Doug ran at the monitor and threw himself at it. A huge crack appeared in the monitor. Wheatley cursed, but he could still see the frail man lying on the floor, muttering desperately to himself. "Uh… Doug? Are you dead?" he asked.

Doug didn't hear him. Everything had gone wrong. Chell was dead, Wheatley was corrupt and his precious Cube had gone. Doug slowly pushed himself up. He had to escape, even if he had no reason to anymore.

He completed the test chambers flawlessly, still hurling himself at every monitor that appeared. As he walked into Test Chamber 16, he heard Wheatley say, "There's a monitor up ahead with special glass on it, so you can't break it! Ha! That should work. He'll believe me, he's… oh bugger! I forgot to turn it off! Did he hear all that?" Doug rolled his eyes at the ceiling and concentrated on brutally destroying every turret he saw.

After throwing a turret through a pane of glass to knock over another turret, Doug remembered he was right next to his first den. He slipped inside quietly. Plants were crawling across the floor, and most of his warnings had worn off. Doug drew out a paintbrush from his lab coat, relieved he had kept it. He quickly drew a picture of Wheatley attached to GLaDOS' body, looking evil and cunning, next to GLaDOS' head, lying on the floor. Underneath, he scribbled _The Queen has been beheaded. _

Doug crawled back into the Test Chamber and destroyed three more turrets. He was about to continue when he heard a strange noise. It was coming from the room with all the Weighted Storage Cubes. Doug peered in cautiously.

A Monitor was attached to the wall. Wheatley was there, staring at the floor. Doug was taken aback by the look of deep sorrow in his eyes. His body was shaking slightly, almost as if he was silently crying.

Doug sat down in front of him. "Wheatley?" he asked timidly. "What's wrong?" He flinched at the sudden look of rage in Wheatley's optic. "I'll tell you what's wrong!" he snarled. The image flickered, and Wheatley's glare was replaced by security footage. Doug realized with a jolt that he could see himself at a control panel along with two other people. He was looking at a tall man strapped to a chair. He was begging to be released, but they weren't listening to him. Doug covered his ears and the man let out a piercing scream. The memory was too painful. When he opened his eyes again, the tall man was dead. A core suddenly opened its optic and peered around curiously. Even though the footage wasn't in colour, Doug knew the core's eye colour was that bright blue.

Wheatley appeared on the monitor again, but instead of rage, he looked utterly defeated. "I was a human once, and now I've killed her," he murmured quietly. Despite what the core had put him through, Doug couldn't stop himself from resting a hand on the monitor. "I'm sorry," he said. "For everything. I never wanted you to end up like this."

The two of them sat there for several hours, each lost in silent thought. Finally Wheatley blinked and looked at Doug. "I didn't want this to happen," he said quietly. "Even though I need to test, I can't forget that you repaired me when GLaDOS tried to crush me, helped me see Chell through everything." He paused. "Thank you."

A panel opened up in the wall. Doug nodded at Wheatley, before running through it. He couldn't believe the corrupt maniac was letting him go. He stopped, uncertain. Where was he supposed to go? He shook his head and ran, not knowing where he would end up, not caring. After a while he began to tire. Leaning against a wall, he let himself plunge into unconsciousness.

He was woken by Wheatley's voice. "Hey, you're _alive! _Great!" Doug froze.

Chell was alive.


	8. Chapter 8: Change

~ Wow. The day after I post Chapter 7, I have _twelve_ emails from FanFiction about my story! Thanks so much you guys!

Chapter 8: Change

Doug ran through countless corridors, trying to find Chell. He could hear Wheatley's voice, slowly getting louder and louder, until he found him.

Chell _was _alive! She looked slightly bruised, and she had a cut on her arm, but she had the same defiant gleam in her eyes. GLaDOS was speared on her portal gun. Wheatley had used the monitors in his new chamber. It was poorly designed; he hadn't put in the deadly water yet, and the solution was so easy, Doug could have probably solved it with his eyes closed.

Chell pressed the button, and a cube fell onto the button – but _was_ it a cube? Two turrets were sticking out of one side, with two legs that were twitching madly. Doug accidentally hit his head on the glass in his disbelief.

Wheatley glanced up at him, his optic shrinking. He congratulated Chell, but as she went through the door, the core glared at him. A panel rose up and shoved the turret-cube off of the button, before catapulting it through the glass.

Doug yelled in shock as it collided with his stomach. If he had eaten anything, he would have thrown it up, but thankfully his stomach was empty. Another glass pane was put in place as Chell walked back into the test chamber. Doug scrambled out of her view, dragging the turret-cube with him.

He crouched behind a desk, panting. The turret-cube chirped loudly, legs waving madly. Doug placed it up the right way, wondering why Wheatley had thrown it at him. As it started hopping away, a disc fell off of its side. Doug picked it up. He could see a faint pink heart with a scratch, the heart he knew so well.

He stared at the two turrets, which were now looking at him.

"Cube?"

The turrets nodded. Doug slapped his hand over his mouth, his mind reeling. His beautiful cube, his one companion… wrecked. His eyes rolled, and he fainted.

Groaning, Doug sat up. Cube was still looking at him with her new eyes. Her legs suddenly twitched, and she half-jumped, half dragged herself forward. She made strange chirping noises that Doug couldn't understand, but he knew that soon he might be able to hear her speak.

He pulled a piece of string out of his pocket. He found a sharp piece of rubber, and used it to poke a hole it the top of the heart plate. He threaded the string through the hole, and tied it around his neck. "I'll keep a piece of you forever," he whispered to Cube.

As he walked out of the room, Cube followed him, chirping. Doug chuckled. At least he wouldn't have to carry the heavy cube on his back. He wandered around until he found the test chamber Chell was in. Wheatley was ripping a wall in half to make an exit. Doug rolled his eyes. The core really was an idiot.

"After you told me to turn the beam off, I thought I had lost you. Went poking around for other test subjects." Doug froze. Wheatley paused for a moment, before saying, "No luck there. Everyone's still all dead." Doug sighed in relief. Even if Wheatley had nothing to feel bad about now he knew Chell was alive, he still seemed to have a shred of gratitude toward the mad scientist who had fixed him and helped him.

Doug watched Chell throughout the next few test chambers, making sure she was ok. Cube followed him like a shadow, chirping at him every now and then. As Chell started Test Chamber 16, Doug sat down next to Cube.

"Are you still in there?" he whispered to her. She gazed at him steadily. Doug reached out and stroked the turret's head. It chirped softly. Doug sighed and patted the cracked casing.

Chell stepped into the lift, and Doug dragged himself to his feet. He felt tired and hungry, but he had to keep moving. He trudged to the next chamber, Cube hopping after him.

Chell finished the next few chambers quickly, ignoring Wheatley completely. But as GLaDOS muttered that the core was probably going to kill them, a look of terrible sadness flickered across the test subject's face. Doug realized she still cared for the little core, as corrupted as he had become. Doug looked down at Cube. She may have been changed beyond recognition, but she still stayed with him, following no matter where he went. Doug bent down and lightly kissed the turret's head. "Thank you, Cube," he breathed.

He wandered down to the next chamber. It looked simple enough; all Chell had to do was use an Arial Faith Plate to grab a turret-cube. Doug smiled as she stepped forward, but he gasped in horror as she was thrown sideways.

Doug sprinted after them, trying to find out where they were going. He found an observation room above a small platform. It was surrounded by huge plates that had spikes welded on. Doug stared, panicking. Chell would be killed! He turned on a computer and tried to find a way to help. He saw a panel had been ripped off the wall, leaving a Portal-friendly surface.

He tried to get some conversion gel dripping down, but there was a password. Doug swore furiously.

Cube nudged against his leg. He looked down at her, confused. She head butted his pocket, chirping. He put his hand in and pulled out the sheet of paper with the strange symbol and the string of numbers on it.

He typed in the string of numbers, but it didn't work. He looked at the numbers again. They were all either 1 or 0. His eyes widened. _Binary._

He typed them into the computer translator, and a single word came up: **Resistance. **Doug typed it in, and the screen came up.

Doug grinned at Cube and tried to find the right pipe. He found it, and white gel started dripping down moments before Chell was thrown onto the platform.

"Hello!" Wheatley called. "This is the part where I kill you!"


	9. Chapter 9: The Part Where

**~ Oh God, sorry for the HUGE amount of time this took. All my homework meant I didn't have a lot of time for writing, and I got the Itch to replay the whole game through again. Twice. So here is the last chapter of Rat's Tale. Thank you to all the fans and reviewers, this story wouldn't be as good as it is without you. ~**

Chapter Nine: The Part Where He Kills Her

Doug nearly passed out with relief as Chell used the portals to throw conversion gel onto the platform she was standing on. She placed a portal under her feet just as the huge spike plates crashed together. She ran across the catwalk without looking back at the furious AI behind her.

Doug picked up Cube and ran after then, dodging exploding walls and broken panels, until he saw Chell again. She was travelling through an excursion funnel, GLaDOS talking quietly to her. _What if she's going to her death? _Doug thought to himself. _What if Wheatley kills her? Would it be my fault?_

Doug knew what he had to do. Sighing, he took one long, last look at Chell. She was staring at the exploding facility with horror in her eyes, yet there was a fierce determination there, to stop Wheatley – and possibly save him too.

Doug stared at her for a moment longer, then turned around and limped in what he thought was the right direction. Soon he found himself outside the panels that had hidden him not long ago. He swallowed and slipped between them.

Wheatley was muttering to himself, his chamber now covered with black panels. A tube of conversion gel was humming quietly, and a tube snaked its way down Wheatley's body, and as Wheatley swung round to face a portal-friendly panel, a bomb shot out of the end, blasting it backwards. A black panel slid smoothly to replace it.

"Perfect," Wheatley announced, looking around. "Hey, did you see-" he broke off as he realised nobody was there. "Oh. Right…" he said to himself, staring at the floor. Doug stepped forward, Cube just behind him. "Wheatley?" he said softly, "May I speak with you?"

The AI swung himself round and glared at Doug. "What do _you _want, Ratt?" he snarled. Doug swallowed before continuing, "You have to stop this. Listen to yourself Wheatley. Is this really you?" The blue optic widened as Doug carried on. "This isn't you, and you know it. You need to stop this, for your sake… and for Chell's."

The moment he said her name, Wheatley glared at him again, eye filled with rage. "Don't speak to me about _her!_" he spat. "Wheatley, no -" Doug pleaded, but Wheatley shoved him onto the floor. Cube chirped in alarm and gently nudged him.

Wheatley leaned down and glared at the man he owed his life to. "Now listen here, Ratt," he growled. "That name means nothing to me anymore. _Nothing. _Maybe if she hadn't been so selfish, we could have ruled Aperture together, but we can't. So stop interfering, and carry on your pointless, stupid life _without _bossing me around!"

Doug struggled to sit up, feeling dazed. "That's not true, and you know it!" he gasped. Wheatley narrowed his eye, pushing his core even closer to Doug's face. "I know that she's betrayed me. You've betrayed me! So just _leave me alone!_"

Before Doug could reply, an alarm went off. "They're coming," Wheatley muttered to himself, spinning back around to face a monitor. Doug knew he should say more, but there was no time. He grabbed Cube and ran back between the panels, crouching down and peering through.

As Chell appeared, Doug closed his eyes and prayed that she made it through alive. As neurotoxin began to pour into the room, Chell hid behind the pipe of conversion gel. Wheatley threw several bombs at her, and the pipe shattered, spreading the white gel everywhere. Wheatley yelled in rage and hurled more bombs at Chell.

Doug closed his eyes – then opened them as Wheatley gave a cry of pain. Chell had managed to hit him with his own weapon, and he was hanging limply from the ceiling, swaying slightly. Chell quickly grabbed a core, and as she ran past Doug's hiding place, he heard it speak.

"Space, space, let's go to space!" it rambled, staring around wildly. Doug gave a faint groan. He remembered the day he had found the tape of who the Space Core was made out of. It had been a child, barely ten years old. Doug shivered at the memory. Chell bounced on some repulsion gel and attached the core to the AI's body.

As Doug watched silently, Chell managed to attach two more cores onto Wheatley. As the third one was thrown on, several panels moved aside and Doug could see the Stalemate Resolution Button. He cheered as Chell jumped through to press it. There was a loud _BANG!_ and Doug stared in horror as Chell was thrown violently backwards.

"PART FIVE! BOOBY-TRAP THE STALEMATE BUTTON!" Wheatley yelled triumphantly. To Doug's relief, Chell pushed herself up and pointed her portal gun at Wheatley. Several panels were ripped off of the roof, and Doug could see the moon shining calmly down. Chell pointed up at it with shaking hands, and Doug knew what was about to happen a second before it did.

He wrapped his arms around Cube as the portal to the moon hit its target. The combined size of Doug and Cube meant they weren't sucked through the small gap between the panels, but they could still see through. Doug gasped as Chell was dragged through; he sighed with relief as she grabbed hold of Wheatley. GLaDOS sent a claw machine to push Wheatley into space, and Doug knew that she was going send Chell with him.

"GLaDOS! _No!_" he yelled, struggling to reach. Cube head butted him in the stomach to stop him, but he kept on trying, until he broke free. "Chell!" he cried as he was dragged nearer to the portal. GLaDOS paused, and as Wheatley's cries became fainter, she pulled back the claw with Chell hanging from it. Doug stared in amazement as the portal fizzled and Chell dropped to the floor. The moment he was sure she was unconscious, he ran forward and leaned down next to her. "Chell?" he whispered.

"Well, well," said a cold metal voice, "What do we have here?"

Doug looked round and saw GLaDOS staring coolly at him, her head back on her old body. Doug sighed, suddenly angry. "Look," he stated simply, "if you don't co-operate with me, I'll… I'll kill Chell!" GLaDOS stared at him. "And how do you propose to do that?" she asked mildly. Doug blinked. "Um…" He picked up Cube and held her above Chell's head. "You know I will!" he lied.

GLaDOS peered at him a moment longer. "I don't really believe you," she said, her yellow optic glowing dangerously. "Now, why should I not just kill her now and save time?"

Doug looked up at the huge, monstrous AI. "For such an intelligent machine, I'm surprised you haven't worked it out yet," he said coolly. As GLaDOS glared at him, he continued, "Why is Chell an orphan? Why did you agree with everything Cave said, and why did he place such trust in his assistant? Why was Chell there on Bring Your Daughter to Work day? When you woke her up, it was like she knew the tests, like she had seen them before. Only she knew you were lying, and she defeated you. There's a reason you haven't killed her yet, and you never realised why you couldn't do it. Oh, you tried, but only because the cores were controlling you. There was always a small part of your programming that made you keep her alive, and hid who she was to Caroline… who she is to you."

The huge AI's body recoiled, like a startled animal. "You're lying," GLaDOS choked out. "She's not… she _can't_ be…"

"She is," Doug replied, his heart beating madly. For a whole minute, human and AI stared at each other, the limp body of Chell between them. Finally GLaDOS stared at the floor. "Tell me what you want, and then get out of my sight," she muttered.

Doug felt weak with relief. "I just want you to repair Cube," he said quietly. As much as he wanted to, he knew if he begged for Chell to be released, GLaDOS would find a way to compress him into a matchbox. The huge AI sent a claw snaking into the room, where it grabbed Cube and began to lift her into the air. She gave an alarmed squeak and began to struggle madly. Doug reached out to comfort her, but she was dragged into the air and out of sight before he could.

He stared at the place where the orange portal had closed. Somewhere out there, Wheatley was stranded in space, alone and defeated. Even though the murderous core had tried to kill him and Chell a number of times, Doug felt a pang of sadness as remembered the time when Wheatley had been his friend, watched over Chell for him, kept him company whenever they crossed paths. He may not have meant as much to him as Cube did, but as Doug glanced at Chell, he guessed that she would miss the core terribly.

GLaDOS swung back round to face him as something hit him from behind. He crashed to the floor and spun around, ready to attack whatever had knocked him over. His fists dropped to his sides when he saw what it was.

The companion cube looked terrible. Burn marks covered the shell, with an ugly scar running down one side. But he knew instantly that it was his Cube, the beautiful box that had been his only friend for countless years. He scrambled over to it and hugged it, feeling the heart he kept around his neck slide out and bounce against the side of the box it was once attached to.

GLaDOS peered at the mad man hugging the box. "I hate to break up the party, but I think its best you go before the neurotoxin generators repair. Unless you want to stay for that, of course."

Doug gave a small nod to the AI. She was the reason he had been imprisoned in the first place; she had trapped him in a never-ending nightmare, forced to test until he escaped. And yet now they had an agreement, both of them mutually hating the other but not interfering with their plans. Doug swung Cube onto his back, smiled down at Chell and backed away before turning and running as fast as he could.

He found himself outside the room he had left the turret in earlier. He sat down and watched it stand in a spotlight, feeling his eyes droop. Before long, he was asleep.

He was woken by the sound of an elevator. His eyes grew round at the sight of turrets, more turrets than he had seen in his life, all staring silently a woman being carried upwards.

Chell.

Doug watched in amazement as Prometheus, the different turret he had programmed to help Chell, sang a small solo, before shutting down. And a part of Doug knew that Prometheus had shut down for the last time, and wouldn't wake up again. He wasn't sure how he knew this, but he felt safe in the knowledge that GLaDOS would never get her hands on the information Prometheus held.

As the turrets sang to Chell, Doug found himself drawn into the song. He stood up and exited the room, running up staircases faster than he imagined possible. The song seemed to echo in his head as he skidded to a halt next to the elevator.

Chell had stepped outside, looking around and taking in the world. Doug watched her go, feeling happier than he had ever felt before. Yet something was tugging at his heart. Chell didn't need him anymore. He knew he never wanted her to need him again in the way she had inside Aperture. He knew he had to let her go.

"You don't have to let her go," said a quiet voice behind him.

Doug turned to smile at Cube. "What do you mean?" he asked, glad she was speaking again.

"Go after her," Cube replied. "I'm just a box. You won't need me soon. Doug, go after her. Live in the outside world. You deserve it." Doug pulled Cube off of his back and stared at her. "I can't leave you," he whispered, half to himself.

"Don't take me with you," Cube pleaded, her voice faint. "I don't want you to be reminded of this awful place every time you look at me. It would be better if you just forgot this nightmare." Doug gave a small chuckle, although his eyes were full of tears. "Oh Cube, how could I _ever_ forget you?"

He picked up Cube and walked nearer to the door. "You know," he said softly to her, "I always knew you were good and kind and wonderful. But you know what you are now?"

"What?" Cube asked, sounding confused. Doug put his head closer to her.

"Wrong."

With one massive effort, he threw Cube through the door, watching her tumble out in front of Chell. The door slammed shut, but Doug ran at it, putting his full force against it. He was thrown out into the sunlight, Cube by his side.

He stared up at the woman looking at him, startled. Doug grinned, watching as Chell slowly realised who it was. Doug pushed himself upwards and stood up.

"Doug. Doug Rattmann."

Chell smiled at him, and Doug felt his spirits soar. He had escaped GLaDOS, along with Chell and his faithful companion cube. He was outside.

He was free.


End file.
